Biography of Elizabeth Feodorovna Romanova. Martyrdom of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna

Elizaveta Feodorovna and Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov

It is generally accepted that the Grand Duchess and the Grand Duke were in a “white marriage” (that is, they lived like brother and sister). This is not true: they dreamed of children, especially Sergei Alexandrovich. It is generally accepted that Elizaveta Feodorovna was a meek and quiet angel. And that's not true. Her strong-willed character and business qualities made themselves felt from childhood. They said that the Grand Duke is vicious and has unconventional inclinations - again not true. Even the all-powerful British intelligence did not find anything more "reprehensible" in his behavior than excessive religiosity.

Today, the personality of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov either remains in the shadow of his great wife, the Reverend Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna, or is vulgarized - as, for example, in the film "State Councilor", where the Governor General of Moscow appears as a very unpleasant type. Meanwhile, it was largely thanks to the Grand Duke that Elizaveta Feodorovna became what we know her to be: “the great Mother”, “the guardian angel of Moscow”.

Slandered during his lifetime, almost forgotten after his death, Sergei Alexandrovich deserves to be rediscovered. The man, through whose efforts Russian Palestine appeared, and Moscow became an exemplary city; a man who has carried the cross of an incurable disease and the cross of endless slander all his life; and the Christian who took communion up to three times a week - with the general practice of doing this once a year at Easter, for whom faith in Christ was the core of life. “God grant me to be worthy of the leadership of such a spouse as Sergius,” wrote Elizaveta Feodorovna after his murder ...

About the history of the great love of Elizabeth Feodorovna and Sergei Alexandrovich, as well as the history of lies about them - our story.

The name of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov is pronounced today, as a rule, only in connection with the name of his wife, the Reverend Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna. She really was an outstanding woman with an extraordinary fate, but Prince Sergei, who remained in her shadow, it turns out, just played the first violin in this family. They tried to denigrate their marriage more than once, call it lifeless or fictitious, in the end, unhappy, or, conversely, idealized. But these attempts are unconvincing. After the death of her husband, Elizaveta Fedorovna burned her diaries, but the diaries and letters of Sergei Alexandrovich have survived, and they allow us to look into the life of this exceptional family, carefully guarded from prying eyes.

Not such a simple bride

The decision to marry was made at a difficult time for Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich: in the summer of 1880, his mother, Maria Alexandrovna, whom he adored, died, and less than a year later, the bomb of the People's Will Ignaty Grinevitsky cut short the life of his father, Emperor Alexander II. The time has come for him to remember the words of the teacher, the maid of honor Anna Tyutcheva, who wrote to the young prince: “By your nature, you need to be married, you suffer alone.” Sergei Alexandrovich really had the unfortunate property of going deep into himself, engaging in self-criticism. He needed a close person ... And he found such a person.

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. 1861

1884 Ella is one of the most beautiful brides in Europe. Sergei is one of the most enviable suitors, the fifth son of Emperor Alexander II the Liberator. Judging by the diaries, they first met when the Grand Duchess of Hesse and the Rhine, Alice-Maud-Mary, wife of Ludwig IV, was in the last months of pregnancy the future wife of the Grand Duke. A photograph has been preserved where she sits together with the Russian Empress Maria Alexandrovna, who arrived in Darmstadt, and her seven-year-old son Sergei. When the Russian royal family returned to Russia from their trip to Europe, they again stopped by their relatives in Darmstadt, and the little Grand Duke was allowed to be present at the bathing of the newborn Ella, his future wife.

Why Sergei made a choice in favor of Elizabeth, escaped the attention of his relatives and educators. But the choice was made! And although Ella and Sergei both had doubts, in the end, in 1883, their engagement was announced to the world. “I gave my consent without hesitation,” Ella’s father, Grand Duke Ludwig IV, said then. - I have known Sergei since childhood; I see his sweet, pleasant manner and I am sure that he will make my daughter happy.”

The son of the Russian emperor married a provincial German duchess! Here is a familiar look at this brilliant couple - and also a myth. The duchesses of Darmstadt were not so simple. Elizabeth and Alexandra (who became the last Russian empress) are the granddaughters of Queen Victoria, from the age of 18 until her death in old age - the permanent ruler of Great Britain (Empress of India since 1876!), A man of strict morality and an iron grip, under which Britain achieved its heyday. The official title of Elizabeth Feodorovna, which passed to all Hessian princesses, is the Duchess of Great Britain and the Rhine: they belonged, no more, no less, to the family that ruled at that time the third part of the land. And this title - according to all the rules of etiquette - was inherited from her mother, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, daughter of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II.

Thus, the Romanovs became related to the British crown thanks to Alice of Hesse - like her mother Victoria, an unusually strong woman: having married a German duke, Alice had to face the fastidiousness of the Germans, who were not very willing to accept the English princess. However, she once led parliament for nine months; launched extensive charitable activities - the almshouses founded by her operate in Germany to this day. Ella also inherited her grip, and subsequently her character will make itself felt.

In the meantime, Elizabeth of Darmstadt, although extremely noble and educated, but somewhat windy and impressionable young lady, discusses shops and beautiful trinkets. Preparations for their wedding with Sergei Alexandrovich were kept in the strictest confidence, and in the summer of 1884, the nineteen-year-old Hessian princess arrived in a train decorated with flowers in the capital of the Russian Empire.

“He often treated her like a school teacher…”

Princess of Hesse and British Ella. Early 1870s

In public, Elizaveta Feodorovna and Sergei Alexandrovich were, first of all, high-ranking persons, they headed societies and committees, and their human relations, their mutual love and affection were kept secret. Sergei Alexandrovich made every effort to ensure that the inner life of the family did not become public: he had many ill-wishers. From the letters we know more than the contemporaries of the Romanovs could have known.

“He told me about his wife, admired her, praised her. He thanks God every hour for his happiness,” recalls Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich, his relative and close friend. The Grand Duke really adored his wife - he loved to give her unusual jewelry, to give her small gifts with or without occasion. Treating her sternly at times, in her absence he could not boast of Elizabeth. As one of his nieces (in the future - Queen Maria of Romania) recalls, “my uncle was often harsh with her, as with everyone else, but worshiped her beauty. He often treated her like a school teacher. I saw the delicious flush of shame that filled her face as he scolded her. “But, Serge ...” she exclaimed then, and her expression was like the face of a student convicted of some kind of mistake.

“I felt how Sergey longed for this moment; and I knew many times that he suffered from it. He was a true angel of kindness. How often could he, by touching my heart, lead me to change my religion in order to make myself happy; and never, never did he complain... Let people shout about me, but just never say a word against my Sergei. Take his side before them and tell them that I adore him and also my new country and that in this way I have learned to love their religion too…”

From a letter from Elizabeth Feodorovna to her brother Ernest about the change of religion

Contrary to the rumors spread then, it was a truly happy marriage. On the day of the decade of married life, which fell at the height of the Russo-Japanese War, the prince wrote in his diary: “In the morning I am in church, my wife is in the warehouse *. Lord, why am I so happy? (The donation warehouse for the benefit of the soldiers, organized with the assistance of Elizabeth Feodorovna: they sewed clothes there, prepared bandages, collected parcels, formed camp churches. - Ed.)

Their life really was a service with the maximum return of all their strengths and abilities, but we will have time to say about this.

What is she? In a letter to her brother Ernest, Ella calls her husband "a real angel of kindness."

The Grand Duke became in many ways the teacher of his wife, very soft and unobtrusive. Being 7 years older, he really takes care of her education to a great extent, teaches her Russian language and culture, introduces her to Paris, shows her Italy and takes her on a trip to the Holy Land. And, judging by the diaries, the Grand Duke did not stop praying, hoping that someday his wife would share with him the main thing in his life - his faith and the Sacraments of the Orthodox Church, to which he belonged with all his soul.

“After 7 long years of our happy married life, we must start a brand new life and leave our cozy family life in the city. We will have to do so much for the people there, and in fact we will play the role of the ruling prince there, which will be very difficult for us, because instead of playing such a role, we are eager to lead a quiet private life.

From a letter from Elizabeth Feodorovna to her father, the Grand Duke of Hesse, on the appointment of her husband to the post of Governor-General of Moscow

Unusual religiosity is a feature that distinguished the Grand Duke from childhood. When seven-year-old Sergei was brought to Moscow and asked: what would you like? - he replied that his most cherished desire is to get to the bishop's service in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin.

Subsequently, when an adult young man he met during a trip to Italy with Pope Leo XIII, he was amazed at the Grand Duke's knowledge of church history - and even ordered to raise the archives to check the facts voiced by Sergei Alexandrovich. Entries in his diaries always began and ended with the words: "Lord, have mercy," "Lord, bless." He himself decided what church utensils should be brought to the consecration of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane (also his brainchild) - brilliantly knowing both the service and all its paraphernalia! And, by the way, Sergei Alexandrovich was the first and only of the great princes of the Romanov dynasty who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land three times in his life. Moreover, he dared to do the first through Beirut, which was extremely difficult and far from safe. And on the second he took his wife with him, at that time still a Protestant ...

“It is right to be of the same faith with your spouse”

In their family estate Ilyinsky, where Sergei Alexandrovich and Elizaveta Fedorovna spent the happiest days of their lives, starting from their honeymoon, a temple has been preserved, now it is working again. According to legend, it was here that the then Protestant Ella was present at her first Orthodox service.

According to her status, Elizabeth Feodorovna did not have to change her religion. It will be 7 years after her marriage before she writes: "My heart belongs to Orthodoxy." Evil tongues said that Elizabeth Feodorovna was actively pushed to adopt a new faith by her husband, under whose unconditional influence she was always. But, as the Grand Duchess herself wrote to her father, her husband “never tried to force me by any means, leaving all this to my conscience alone.” All he did was softly and delicately introduce her to his faith. And the princess herself approached this issue very seriously, studying Orthodoxy, looking at it very carefully.

Having finally made a decision, Ella first of all writes to her influential grandmother Queen Victoria - they have always been on good terms. The wise grandmother replies: "Being with your spouse of the same faith is right." Her father did not accept Elizabeth Feodorovna's decision so favorably, although it is difficult to come up with a more affectionate and tactful tone and more sincere words with which Ella begged "dear Pope" for a blessing on the decision to convert to Orthodoxy:

“... I kept thinking and reading and praying to God to show me the right path, and came to the conclusion that only in this religion can I find all the real and strong faith in God that a person must have in order to be a good Christian. It would be a sin to remain the way I am now - to belong to the same Church in form and for the outside world, but inside myself to pray and believe like my husband ‹ ... husband…”

Duke Ludwig IV did not answer his daughter, but she could not go against her conscience, although she admitted: “I know that there will be many unpleasant moments, since no one will understand this step.” So, to the indescribable happiness of the spouse, the day came when they were able to take communion together. And the third, last in his life, trip to the Holy Land has already been made together - in every sense.

90 Societies of the Grand Duke

The Grand Duke was one of the initiators of the creation and until his death - the chairman of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society, without which today it is impossible to imagine the history of the Russian pilgrimage to the Holy Land! Having become the head of the Society in the 1880s, he managed to open 8 courtyards of the Russian Orthodox Church in Palestine, 100 schools where Arab children were taught the Russian language and introduced to Orthodoxy, build a church of Mary Magdalene in honor of his mother - this is an incomplete list of his deeds, and All this was carried out quite subtly and cunningly. So, sometimes the prince allocated money for construction, without waiting for the issuance of permits, one way or another bypassed many obstacles. There is even an assumption that his appointment in 1891 as the governor-general of Moscow is a cunning political intrigue invented by the intelligence services of the discontented England and France - who will like Russia's "mastery" on the territory of their colonies? - and which had as its goal the removal of the prince from affairs in the Holy Land. Be that as it may, these calculations did not come true: the prince, it seems, only redoubled his efforts!

It is hard to imagine how active people the spouses were, how much they managed to do in their, in general, short life! He headed or was a trustee of about 90 societies, committees and other organizations, and found time to take part in the life of each of them. Here are just a few: the Moscow Architectural Society, the Ladies' Guardianship of the Poor in Moscow, the Moscow Philharmonic Society, the Committee for Arrangement at the Moscow University of the Museum of Fine Arts named after Emperor Alexander III, the Moscow Archaeological Society. He was an honorary member of the Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Arts, the Society of Artists of Historical Painting, Moscow and St. Petersburg Universities, the Society of Agriculture, the Society of Natural Science Lovers, the Russian Musical Society, the Archaeological Museum in Constantinople and the Historical Museum in Moscow, the Moscow Theological Academy, the Orthodox Missionary Society, Department of distribution of spiritual and moral books.

Since 1896, Sergei Alexandrovich has been the commander of the Moscow Military District. He is also the chairman of the Imperial Russian Historical Museum. On his initiative, the Museum of Fine Arts on Volkhonka was created - the Grand Duke laid six of his own collections at the basis of its exposition.

“Why do I always feel deeply? Why am I not like everyone else, not cheerful like everyone else? I delve stupidly into everything and see it differently - I myself am ashamed that I am so old-fashioned and cannot be, like all the “golden youth”, cheerful and carefree.

From the diary of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich

Becoming in 1891 the governor-general of Moscow - and this meant taking care not only of Moscow, but also of the ten provinces adjacent to it - he launched an incredible activity, setting himself the goal of making the city equal to European capitals. Under him, Moscow became exemplary: clean, neat paving stones, police officers placed within sight of each other, all utilities work perfectly, order is everywhere and in everything. Under him, electric street lighting was established - the central city power station was built, the GUM was erected, the Kremlin towers were restored, a new building of the Conservatory was built; under him, the first tram began to run along the capital, the first public theater opened, and the city center was put in perfect order.

Charity, which was engaged in Sergei Alexandrovich and Elizaveta Fedorovna, was neither ostentatious nor superficial. “The ruler must be the blessing of his people,” Ella's father often repeated, and he himself and his wife, Alice of Hesse, tried to follow this principle. From an early age, their children were taught to help people, regardless of rank - for example, they went to the hospital every week, where they gave flowers to seriously ill patients, encouraged them. It entered their blood and flesh, the Romanovs raised their children in the same way.

Even while relaxing in their estate near Moscow, Ilyinsky, Sergei Alexandrovich and Elizaveta Fedorovna continued to accept requests for help, for employment, for donations for the upbringing of orphans - all this was preserved in the correspondence of the Grand Duke's manager of the court with different people. Once a letter arrived from the compositors of a private printing house, who dared to ask to be allowed to sing at the Liturgy in Ilyinsky in the presence of the Grand Duke and Princess. And this request was fulfilled.

In 1893, when cholera was raging in Central Russia, a temporary first-aid post was opened in Ilyinsky, where they examined and, if necessary, urgently operated on all those in need of help, where the peasants could stay in a special “hut for isolation” - like in a hospital. The infirmary operated from July to October. This is a classic example of the ministry that the couple has been engaged in all their lives.

"White marriage", which was not

Spouses Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna. 1884 Sergei Alexandrovich and Elizaveta Feodorovna in the year of their wedding. Contrary to popular belief, they did not live in the so-called. "white marriage": the Grand Duke dreamed of children. “We must not be destined to have complete happiness on earth,” he wrote to his brother Paul. “If I had children, then it seems to me that there would be paradise on our planet for me, but the Lord does not want this - His ways are inscrutable!”

“How I wish I had children! For me, there would be no greater paradise on earth if I had my own children, ”Sergey Alexandrovich writes in letters. A letter from Emperor Alexander III to his wife, Empress Maria Feodorovna, has been preserved, where he writes: “What a pity that Ella and Sergey cannot have children.” “Of all the uncles, we were most afraid of Uncle Sergei, but despite this, he was our favorite,” the niece of Prince Maria recalls in her diaries. “He was strict, kept us in awe, but he loved children ... If he had the opportunity, he would come to watch the children bathe, cover them with a blanket and kiss them goodnight ...”

The Grand Duke was given the opportunity to raise children - but not his own, but his brother Pavel, after the tragic death during premature birth of his wife, the Greek princess Alexandra Georgievna. Direct witnesses of the six-day agony of the unfortunate woman were the owners of the estate, Sergei and Elizaveta. Heartbroken, Pavel Alexandrovich, for several months after the tragedy, was not able to take care of his children - the young Maria and the newborn Dmitry, and Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich completely took over this care. He canceled all plans and trips and stayed in Ilyinsky, participated in bathing a newborn - who, by the way, should not have survived, according to the unanimous opinion of doctors - he himself covered him with cotton wool, did not sleep at night, taking care of the little prince. Interestingly, Sergei Alexandrovich wrote down all the important events in the life of his ward in his diary: the first erupted tooth, the first word, the first step. And after brother Pavel, contrary to the will of the emperor, married a woman who did not belong to an aristocratic family, and was expelled from Russia, his children, Dmitry and Maria, were finally taken into care by Sergei and Elizabeth.

Why the Lord did not give the spouses their own children is His secret. Researchers suggest that the childlessness of the grand ducal couple could be the result of Sergei's serious illness, which he carefully concealed from others. This is another little-known page in the life of the prince, which completely changes the ideas about him that are familiar to many.

Why does he need a corset?

Coldness of character, isolation, closeness - the usual list of accusations against the Grand Duke.

To this they add: proud! - because of his overly straight posture, which gave him an arrogant look. If the accusers of the prince knew that the “culprit” of a proud posture is a corset, with which he was forced to support his spine all his life. The prince was seriously and terminally ill, like his mother, like his brother Nikolai Alexandrovich, who was supposed to become the Russian emperor, but died of a terrible illness. His diagnosis - bone tuberculosis, leading to dysfunction of all joints - Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich knew how to hide from everyone. Only his wife knew what it cost him.

“Sergey suffers a lot. He is unwell again. Salts, hot baths are very necessary, he cannot do without them, ”Elizaveta writes to close relatives. “Instead of going to the reception, the Grand Duke took a bath,” the Moskovskie Vedomosti newspaper scoffed already in pre-revolutionary times. A hot bath is almost the only remedy that relieves pain (articular, dental) that tormented Sergei Alexandrovich. He could not ride, could not do without a corset. In Ilyinsky, during the life of his mother, a koumiss farm was set up for medicinal purposes, but the disease progressed over the years. And if it were not for the bomb of student Ivan Kalyaev, it is very possible that the Governor-General of Moscow would not have lived long anyway ...

The Grand Duke was closed, laconic and closed from childhood. And could you expect anything else from a child whose parents were in fact divorced, which nevertheless could not take place? Maria Alexandrovna lived on the second floor of the Winter Palace, no longer having marital relations with her husband and enduring the presence of the sovereign's favorite, Princess Dolgorukova (she became his wife after the death of Maria Alexandrovna, but stayed in this status for less than a year, until the death of Alexander II). The collapse of the parental family, deep attachment to the mother, who meekly endured this humiliation, are factors that largely determined the formation of the character of the little prince.

They are also reasons for slander, rumors and slander against him. “Too much religious, closed, very often in the temple, takes communion up to three times a week,” this is the most “suspicious” of what English intelligence managed to find out about the prince before he married Elizabeth, after all - granddaughter of the English queen. The reputation is almost impeccable, and yet, even during his lifetime, streams of slander and unpleasant accusations poured out on the Grand Duke ...

"Be patient - you are on the battlefield"

They talked about the dissolute lifestyle of the Governor-General of Moscow, rumors spread around the capital about his non-traditional sexual orientation, that Elizaveta Fedorovna was very unhappy in her marriage to him - all this even during the life of the prince sounded even in English newspapers. Sergei Alexandrovich was at first lost and perplexed, this can be seen from his diary entries and letters, where he poses one question: “Why? Where does all this come from?!”

“Tolerate all this lifetime slander, endure - you are on the battlefield,” Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich wrote to him.

Attacks, accusations of arrogance and indifference could not be avoided and Elizabeth Feodorovna. Of course, there were reasons for this: despite the widest charitable activities, she always kept her distance, knowing the price of her status as a Grand Duchess - belonging to the imperial house hardly implies familiarity. And her character, manifested from childhood, gave rise to such accusations.

In our eyes, the image of the Grand Duchess, admittedly, is somewhat unctuous: a gentle, meek woman with a humble look. This image was formed, of course, not without reason. “Her purity was absolute, it was impossible to take your eyes off her, after spending the evening with her, everyone was waiting for the hour when they could see her the next day,” her niece Maria admires Aunt Ella. And at the same time, it is impossible not to notice that the Grand Duchess Elizabeth had a strong-willed character. Mother admitted that Ella was the exact opposite of her older obedient sister Victoria: very strong and by no means quiet. It is known that Elizabeth spoke very harshly about Grigory Rasputin, believing that his death would be the best way out of the catastrophic and ridiculous situation that had developed at court.

“... When he saw her, he asked: “Who are you?” “I am his widow,” she replied, “why did you kill him?” "I did not want to kill you," he said, "I saw him several times at the time when I had the bomb at the ready, but you were with him, and I did not dare to touch him." “And you didn’t realize that you killed me along with him?” - she replied ... "

Description of the conversation between Elizabeth Feodorovna and the murderer of her husband from the book of Fr. M. Polsky "New Russian Martyrs"

As they would say today, the Grand Duchess was a first-class manager, filigree able to organize business, distribute duties and monitor their implementation. Yes, she kept a little aloof, but at the same time she did not ignore the slightest requests and needs of those who turned to her. There is a famous case during the First World War when a wounded officer, who was threatened with amputation of his leg, filed a request to reconsider this decision. The petition fell to the Grand Duchess and was granted. The officer recovered and subsequently, during the Second World War, served as Minister of Light Industry.

Of course, the life of Elizabeth Feodorovna changed dramatically after the terrible event - the murder of her beloved husband ... The photograph of the carriage torn apart by the explosion was then printed in all Moscow newspapers. The explosion was so strong that the dead man's heart was found only on the third day on the roof of the house. But the Grand Duchess collected the remains of Sergei with her own hands. Her life, her fate, her character - everything has changed, but, of course, the whole previous life, full of dedication and activity, was a preparation for this.

“It seemed,” recalled Countess Alexandra Andreevna Olsufieva, “that from that time on she peered intently at the image of another world, devoted herself to the search for perfection.”

"You and I know that he is a saint"

“Lord, I would be worthy of such a death!” - Sergey Alexandrovich wrote in his diary after the death of one of the statesmen from a bomb - a month before his own death. He received threatening letters, but ignored them. The only thing the prince did was to stop taking his children, Dmitry Pavlovich and Maria Pavlovna, and his adjutant Dzhunkovsky with him on trips.

The Grand Duke foresaw not only his death, but also the tragedy that would overwhelm Russia in a decade. He wrote to Nicholas II, imploring him to be more resolute and tough, to act, to take action. And he himself took such measures: in 1905, when the uprising broke out among the students, he sent students on indefinite vacations, to their homes, preventing the fire from breaking out. "Hear me!" - he writes and writes in recent years to the sovereign emperor. But the emperor did not hear ...

February 4, 1905 Sergei Alexandrovich leaves the Kremlin through the Nikolsky Gate. For 65 meters before the Nikolskaya tower, an explosion of terrible force is heard. The coachman was mortally wounded, and Sergei Alexandrovich was torn to pieces: his head, arm and legs remained from him - so the prince was buried, having built a special “doll”, in the Miracle Monastery, in the tomb. At the site of the explosion, they found his personal belongings, which Sergei always carried with him: icons, a cross given by his mother, a small Gospel.

After the tragedy, everything that Sergei did not manage to do, everything that he put his mind and indefatigable energy into, Elizaveta Fedorovna considered it her duty to continue. “I want to be worthy of the leadership of such a spouse as Sergius,” she wrote shortly after his death to Zinaida Yusupova. And, probably, driven by these thoughts, she went to prison to the murderer of her husband with words of forgiveness and a call to repentance. She worked to the point of exhaustion and, as Countess Olsufyeva writes, "always calm and humble, she found strength and time, getting satisfaction from this endless work."

It is difficult to say in a few words about what the Martha-Mariinsky Convent of Mercy, founded by the Grand Duchess, and which still exists today, has become for the capital. “The Lord gave me so little time,” she writes to Z. Yusupova. “There is still a lot to be done.”…

On July 5, 1918, Elizaveta Feodorovna, her cell attendant Varvara (Yakovleva), nephew Vladimir Pavlovich Paley, the sons of Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich - Igor, John and Konstantin, and the manager of the affairs of Prince Sergei Mikhailovich Fyodor Mikhailovich Remez were thrown alive into a mine near Alapaevsk.

The relics of the Grand Duchess rest in the temple built by her husband - the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane, and the remains of the Grand Duke were transferred in 1998 to the Novospassky Monastery in Moscow. She was canonized in the 1990s, but he... It seems that holiness can be very different, and the great - really great - Prince Sergei Alexandrovich again remained in the shadow of his great wife. Today, the commission for his canonization resumed its work. “You and I know that he is a saint,” Elizaveta Feodorovna said in correspondence after the death of her husband. She knew him best.

"Let go, forgive my villains:
And they don't know what they're doing!!"

ELISAVETA FYODOROVNA
(10.20. (1.11.) 1864, Darmstadt (modern Hesse, Germany) - 07/18/1918, near the city of Alapaevsk, Verkhotursky district of the Perm province, now in the Sverdlovsk region), prmts. (commemorated July 5, in the Cathedral of Moscow Saints, in the Cathedral of St. Petersburg Saints, in the Cathedral of Kostroma Saints and in the Cathedral of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia), led. kng. Full name - Elizabeth Alexandra Louise Alice (in the family she was called Ella), the cross name Elizabeth - in memory of the family ancestress of St. Elizabeth of Thuringia. Daughter led. hertz. Hessian Ludwig IV and led. hertz. Alice, born Princess of Great Britain and Ireland. Elder sister of the imp. mts. Alexandra Feodorovna. She received a good education at home, much attention was paid to music and drawing. In the family, children were brought up in Christ. atmosphere, instilled mercy, taught care for the sick, formed a culture of communication with people of different social strata. After the death of her mother from diphtheria (December 14, 1878), Ella was brought up in England under the supervision of her grandmother, Eng. box Victoria.

Nov. In 1883, the engagement of Princess Ella took place in vrmstadt and led. book. Sergei Alexandrovich, June 3, 1884 - wedding in the church. Savior Not Made by Hands in the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. The couple lived in the Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace (Sergius Palace), built by the architect. A. I. Stackenschneider in 1846-1848. on Nevsky Prospekt. There were members of the imp. surnames, Mrs. figures, foreign envoys, figures of culture and art. Vel. the princess participated in home performances, in the production of "Eugene Onegin" she played the role of Tatyana, Onegin was played by Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich.

Vel. the princess got acquainted with the history of Russia, taught Russian. language, took drawing lessons from the academician of historical painting M. P. Botkin. The joint life of the spouses was built on Christ. beginnings. In spiritual life, Ella was greatly influenced by her husband. As pilgrims they visited Vyshensky in honor of the Dormition of St. Mother of God women. monastery (in Sept. 1886) and the Holy Land (in Sept.-Oct. 1888), after which he led. the princess decided to convert to Orthodoxy. According to the laws of the Russian Empire, Ella had the right not to accept Orthodoxy. Jan 1 In 1891, she wrote to her father: “You should have noticed what deep reverence I have for the local religion ... I kept thinking and reading and praying to God to show me the right path and came to the conclusion that only in this religion I I can find all the real and strong faith in God that a person needs to have to be a good Christian. It would be a sin to remain as I am now - to belong to the same Church in form and for the outside world, but within myself to pray and believe as my husband does. She noted that her husband never tried to force her to choose Orthodoxy. faith, leaving it to her conscience. “How easy it would be,” she continued, “to remain as it is now, but then how hypocritical, how false it would be, and how can I lie to everyone, pretending to be a Protestant in all external rites, when my soul belongs completely religions here? I thought and thought deeply about all this, having been in this country for more than six years and knowing that a religion had been found. I so much desire to partake of the Holy Mysteries on Easter with my husband... I cannot put it off” (Miller, 2002, pp. 69-70). In the 2nd letter to her father, who did not approve of her decision, she wrote: “... I lied all this time, remaining for everyone in my old faith ... It would be impossible for me to continue to live the way I used to live” (Ibid., p. 73). At the request of led. princess for her father protopr. John Yanyshev compiled "Points of difference between Orthodox and Protestant dogma", Ella left annotations in the margins of the text. “Even in Slavonic,” she wrote, “I understand almost everything, never learning it” (Ibid., p. 74). In her reply to her brother Ernst, she explained her decision by the fact that it was precisely the basis of faith that attracted her. “External signs only remind us of the internal,” she described her condition in detail. “... I am moving from pure conviction; I feel that this is the highest religion and that I do it with faith, with deep conviction and confidence that there is God's blessing on it. box Victoria and sister Victoria of Battenberg relatives led. the princesses did not approve of her decision. In a letter dated 5 Jan. In 1891, Ella confirmed her decision to convert to Orthodoxy to Tsarevich Nikolai: “... I want to do it by Easter in order to be able to take communion during Holy Week. This is a great step, as a new life will begin for me, however, I believe that the Lord will bless such a decision. ”

13 Apr. 1891, on Lazarus Saturday, led. The princess converted to Orthodoxy and took the name Elizabeth. According to tradition, the patronymic Feodorovna was given to him. princesses in honor of the revered Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God. “This is an event celebrated by all of Russia together with the greatest of Christian holidays,” the Archim. Antonin (Kapustin) in a letter led. book. Sergei Alexandrovich, - had its own echo in the Holy Land, which keeps in its grateful memory alive and whole bright images of the august pilgrims of 1888. In memory of Palestine, the archimandrite gave E. F. as a gift “several antique gizmos” found during excavations.

In connection with the appointment of Sergei Alexandrovich as Moscow Governor-General on May 5, 1891, the couple arrived in Moscow and first settled in the Alexandrinsky Palace on the territory of Neskuchny Garden, then moved to the house of the Governor-General on Tverskaya. Living in the summer in the vicinity of Savvin Storozhevsky Monastery, E.F. regularly attended his services in the church with. Ilyinsky, Zvenigorodsky district Moscow province. She continued to study Russian. language and literature with goflektriss E. A. Schneider, helped village children, opened a school for them in the village. Ilyinsky, was engaged in painting. Portraits of the maid of honor E. N. Kozlyaninova (GE) and Z. N. Yusupova (private collection), made by E. F. at a high artistic level, have been preserved. E. F. provided many drawings for exhibition at charity exhibitions. On June 3, 1892, E. F. was present at the consecration of the palace of Dimitry Ioannovich in Uglich, St. Tsarevich of Uglich and Moscow, and the opening of a museum of Russian antiquities in it.

Text: Zoya Zhalnina

Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, 1904 Archival photos and documents from the museum of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent of Mercy

A person's deeds and letters speak best of all. Elizaveta Fedorovna's letters to close people reveal the rules on which she built her life and relationships with others, allow you to better understand the reasons that prompted the brilliant high-society beauty to turn into a saint during her lifetime.

In Russia, Elizaveta Feodorovna was known not only as “the most beautiful princess in Europe”, the sister of the Empress and the wife of the Tsar’s uncle, but also as the founder of the Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy, a new type of convent.

In 1918, the founder of the monastery of mercy, wounded but alive, was thrown into a mine in a dense forest so that no one would find it - by order of the head of the Bolshevik Party V.I. Lenin.

Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna was very fond of nature and often walked for a long time - without ladies-in-waiting and "etiquette". In the photo: on the way to the village of Nasonovo, not far from the Ilyinsky estate near Moscow, where she and her husband, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, lived almost without a break until he was appointed in 1891 to the post of Governor-General of Moscow. End of the 19th century. State Archive of the Russian Federation

On faith: “External signs only remind me of the internal”

By birth, a Lutheran, Elizabeth Feodorovna, if desired, could remain her all her life: the canons of that time prescribed a mandatory transition to Orthodoxy only to those members of the august family who were related to the succession to the throne, and Elizabeth's husband, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, was not the heir to the throne . However, in the seventh year of marriage, Elizabeth decides to become Orthodox. And he does this not “because of his husband”, but of his own free will.

Princess Elizabeth with her own family in her youth: father, Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, sister Alix (future Empress of Russia), Princess Elizabeth herself, elder sister, Princess Victoria, brother Ernst-Ludwig. Mother, Princess Alice, died when Elizabeth was 12 years old.
Artist Heinrich von Angeli, 1879

From a letter to his father, Ludwig IV , Grand Duke of Hesse and the Rhine
(January 1, 1891):
I took this step [-conversion to Orthodoxy-] only out of deep faith and I feel that I must appear before God with a pure and believing heart. How easy it would be to remain as it is now, but then how hypocritical, how false it would be, and how can I lie to everyone - pretending to be a Protestant in all outward rites, when my soul belongs entirely to the religion here. I thought and thought deeply about all this, being in this country for more than 6 years, and knowing that the religion was "found".

Even in Slavonic, I understand almost everything, although I have never learned this language. You say that the outward brilliance of the church fascinated me. In this you are wrong. Nothing external attracts me, and not worship - but the foundation of faith. External signs only remind me of the internal ...

Certificate of high medical qualification of the sisters of the Marfo-Mariinsky Labor Community dated April 21, 1925. After the arrest of Elizaveta Feodorovna in 1918, a "labor artel" was set up in the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent and a hospital was preserved where the sisters of the convent could work. The sisters worked so well that they even earned praise from the Soviet authorities. That did not prevent her from closing the monastery a year after the issuance of the certificate, in 1926. A copy of the certificate was provided to the Museum of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent by the Central Archive of Moscow

About the revolution: “I prefer to be killed by the first random shot than to sit with folded arms”

From a letter from V.F. Dzhunkovsky, adjutant of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich (1905):
The revolution cannot end any day now, it can only worsen or become chronic, which in all probability it will. My duty is now to take care of the unfortunate victims of the uprising ... I prefer to be killed by the first accidental shot from some window than to sit here with folded arms.<…>

Revolution of 1905-1907 Barricades in Ekaterininsky Lane (Moscow). Photo from the Museum of Modern History of Russia. Newsreel RIA Novosti

From a letter to Emperor Nicholas II (December 29, 1916):
We are all about to be overwhelmed by huge waves<…>All classes - from the lowest to the highest, and even those who are now at the front - have reached the limit! ..<…>What other tragedy could unfold? What more suffering do we have ahead of us?

Sergei Alexandrovich and Elizaveta Feodorovna. 1892

Elizaveta Feodorovna in mourning for her murdered husband. Archival photos and documents from the museum of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent of Mercy.

On forgiveness of enemies: "Knowing the good heart of the deceased, I forgive you"

In 1905, the husband of Elizaveta Feodorovna, the Governor-General of Moscow, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, was killed by a bomb by the terrorist Kalyaev. Elizaveta Fedorovna, having heard an explosion that thundered not far from the governor's palace, ran out into the street and began to collect her husband's body torn to pieces. Then she prayed for a long time. After some time, she filed a petition for pardon for her husband's killer and visited him in prison, leaving the Gospel. She said she forgives him everything.

Revolutionary Ivan Kalyaev (1877-1905), who killed Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich in Moscow and executed by the tsarist government. From the family of a retired police officer. In addition to the revolution, he loved poetry, wrote poetry. From the notes of the archpriest of the prison Shlisselburg St. John the Baptist Cathedral, John Florinsky: “I have never seen a person going to his death with such calmness and humility of a true Christian. When I told him that in two hours he would be executed, he calmly answered me: “ I'm quite ready to die I don't need your sacraments and prayers I believe in the existence of the Holy Spirit He is always with me and I will die accompanied by Him But if you are a decent person and if you have compassion for me let's just talk like friends.” And he hugged me!” Newsreel RIA Novosti

From the encrypted telegram of the Prosecutor of the Senate E.B. Vasiliev dated February 8, 1905:
The meeting of the Grand Duchess with the killer took place on February 7 at 8 pm in the office of the Pyatnitsky part.<…>When asked who she was, the Grand Duchess replied “I am the wife of the one you killed, tell me why you killed him”; the accused stood up, saying "I did what I was instructed to do, this is the result of the existing regime." The Grand Duchess graciously turned to him with the words “knowing the good heart of the deceased, I forgive you” and blessed the murderer. Then<…>I was alone with the criminal for about twenty minutes. After the meeting, he told the accompanying officer that "the Grand Duchess is kind, and you are all evil."

From a letter to Empress Maria Feodorovna (March 8, 1905):
Violent shock [ from the death of her husband] I have been smoothed out by a small white cross placed at the spot where he died. The next evening I went there to pray and I was able to close my eyes and see this pure symbol of Christ. It was a great mercy, and then, in the evenings, before I go to bed, I say: "Good night!" - and I pray, and in my heart and soul I have peace.

Handmade embroidery by Elizabeth Feodorovna. The images of the sisters Martha and Mary meant the path of service to people chosen by the Grand Duchess: active kindness and prayer. Museum of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent of Mercy in Moscow

About prayer: “I don’t know how to pray well…”

From a letter to Princess Z. N. Yusupova (June 23, 1908):
The relics of St. Alexis brought me peace of heart, peace of mind and soul. If you could come up to the holy relics in the temple and, having prayed, just kiss them with your forehead - so that the world would enter into you and stay there. I hardly prayed - alas, I don’t know how to pray well, but only fell: I fell, like a child to a mother’s breast, without asking for anything, because he was at peace, from the fact that a saint is with me, on whom I can lean and don't get lost alone.

Elizaveta Feodorovna dressed as a sister of mercy. The clothes of the sisters of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent were made according to the sketches of Elizaveta Feodorovna, who believed that white was more appropriate for the sisters in the world than black.
Archival photos and documents from the Museum of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent of Mercy.

On monasticism: “I accepted it not as a cross, but as a path”

Four years after the death of her husband, Elizaveta Fedorovna sold her property and jewelry, giving to the treasury that part that belonged to the Romanov family, and with the proceeds she founded the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent of Mercy in Moscow.

From letters Emperor Nicholas II (March 26 and April 18, 1909):
In two weeks my new life begins, blessed in the church. I kind of say goodbye to the past, with its mistakes and sins, hoping for a higher goal and a purer existence.<…>For me, taking vows is something even more serious than marriage for a young girl. I am betrothed to Christ and His cause, I give everything I can to Him and others.

View of the Martha and Mary Convent on Ordynka (Moscow) at the beginning of the 20th century. Archival photos and documents from the Museum of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent of Mercy.

From a telegram and a letter from Elizabeth Feodorovna to Professor St. Petersburg Theological Academy A.A. Dmitrievsky (1911):
Some do not believe that I myself, without any outside influence, decided to take this step. It seems to many that I have taken on an unbearable cross, which I will regret one day and either throw it off or collapse under it. I accepted it not as a cross, but as a path abounding in light, which the Lord showed me after the death of Sergei, but which, many years before, began to dawn in my soul. For me, this is not a “transition”: it is something that little by little grew in me, took shape.<…>I was amazed when a whole battle was played out to prevent me, to intimidate me with difficulties. All this was done with great love and good intentions, but with an absolute misunderstanding of my character.

Sisters of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent

On relationships with people: "I have to do what they do"

From a letter to E.N. Naryshkina (1910):
... You can tell me, following many others: stay in your palace as a widow and do good "from above". But, if I demand from others that they follow my convictions, I must do the same as they do, I myself experience the same difficulties with them, I must be strong in order to console them, encourage them with my example; I have neither mind nor talent - I have nothing but love for Christ, but I am weak; the truth of our love for Christ, our devotion to him, we can express by comforting other people - this is how we give our lives to him ...

A group of wounded soldiers of the First World War in the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent. In the center are Elizaveta Feodorovna and Sister Varvara, Elizaveta Feodorovna's cell attendant, the venerable martyr, who voluntarily went into exile with her superior and died with her. Photo from the Museum of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent of Mercy.

On his attitude towards himself: “You need to move forward so slowly that it seems that you are standing still”

From a letter to Emperor Nicholas II (March 26, 1910):
The higher we try to climb, the greater feats we impose on ourselves, the more the devil tries to make us blind to the truth.<…>You need to move forward so slowly that it seems that you are standing still. A person should not look down, he should consider himself the worst of the worst. It often seemed to me that there was some kind of lie in this: to try to consider yourself the worst of the worst. But this is precisely what we must come to - with the help of God, everything is possible.

Mother of God and Apostle John the Theologian at the Cross on Golgotha. Fragment of stucco decorating the Pokrovsky Cathedral of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent.

Why God Allows Suffering

From a letter Countess A.A. Olsufieva (1916):
I'm not exalted, my friend. I am only sure that the Lord who punishes is the same Lord who loves. I have been reading the Gospel a lot lately, and if we realize that great sacrifice of God the Father, Who sent His Son to die and rise for us, then we will feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, Who illuminates our path. And then the joy becomes eternal even when our poor human hearts and our little earthly minds experience moments that seem very terrible.

About Rasputin: "This is a man who leads several lives"

Elizaveta Feodorovna was extremely negative about the excessive trust with which her younger sister, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, treated Grigory Rasputin. She believed that the dark influence of Rasputin brought the imperial couple to "a state of blindness that casts a shadow over their home and country."
It is interesting that two of the participants in the murder of Rasputin were in the closest social circle of Elizabeth Feodorovna: Prince Felix Yusupov and Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich, who was her nephew.

Romanova Elizaveta Fedorovna (1864-1918) - Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt; in marriage (behind the Russian Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich) the Grand Duchess of the reigning house of the Romanovs. Founder of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent in Moscow. Honorary member of the Imperial Kazan Theological Academy (the title of the Highest was approved on June 6, 1913).

She was glorified as a saint in the Russian Orthodox Church in 1992.

I felt such deep pity for Russia and her children who don't know what they are doing at the moment. Isn't this a sick child whom we love a hundred times more during his illness than when he is cheerful and healthy? I would like to bear his suffering, to help him. Holy Russia cannot perish. But Great Russia, alas, is no more. We... must direct our thoughts towards the Kingdom of Heaven... and say with humility: "Thy will be done."

Romanova Elizaveta Fedorovna

Grand Duchess Elisabeth was born on October 20, 1864 into a Protestant family of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, and Princess Alice, daughter of Queen Victoria of England. In 1884 she married Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, brother of Emperor Alexander III of Russia.

Seeing the deep faith of her husband, the Grand Duchess searched with all her heart for the answer to the question - what kind of religion is true? She prayed fervently and asked the Lord to reveal His will to her. On April 13, 1891, on Lazarus Saturday, the rite of acceptance into the Orthodox Church was performed over Elisaveta Feodorovna. In the same year, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich was appointed governor-general of Moscow.

Visiting temples, hospitals, orphanages, nursing homes and prisons, the Grand Duchess saw a lot of suffering. And everywhere she tried to do something to relieve them.

After the Russo-Japanese War began in 1904, Elisaveta Feodorovna helped the front and the Russian soldiers in many ways. She worked to the point of exhaustion.

On February 5, 1905, a terrible event occurred that changed the whole life of Elizabeth Feodorovna. The bombing of a revolutionary terrorist killed Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. Elizaveta Feodorovna, who rushed to the place of the explosion, saw a picture that, in its horror, surpassed the human imagination. Silently, without crying or tears, kneeling in the snow, she began to collect and put on a stretcher parts of the body of her husband, who had been dearly loved and alive a few minutes ago. At the hour of her ordeal, Elisaveta Feodorovna asked God for help and consolation. The next day, she received the Holy Mysteries in the Church of the Chudov Monastery, where her husband's coffin stood. On the third day after the death of her husband, Elisaveta Feodorovna went to prison to see the murderer. She didn't hate him. The Grand Duchess wanted him to repent of his terrible crime and pray to the Lord for forgiveness. She even submitted a petition to the Sovereign to pardon the murderer.

Elisaveta Feodorovna decided to devote her life to the Lord through serving people and create in Moscow a monastery of work, mercy and prayer. She bought a piece of land on Bolshaya Ordynka Street with four houses and a large garden. In the monastery, which was named Marfo-Mariinsky in honor of the holy sisters Martha and Mary, two churches were created - Marfo-Mariinsky and Pokrovsky, a hospital, which was later considered the best in Moscow, and a pharmacy in which medicines were dispensed to the poor free of charge, an orphanage and a school . Outside the walls of the monastery, a house-hospital was built for women with tuberculosis.